Mansion Tour
Stop 2.1: Augustus and Bessie Meet
Augustus graduated from Brown University in 1876 and went to work in his father’s coal mining business in Pennsylvania. There he met Bessie Pardee, the daughter of coal baron Ario Pardee. They married in 1882.
Bessie wrote to her sister regarding wedding plans:
“ I have been very busy working on the suspenders for Mr. Van. I finished them today, and tomorrow I will take them to be made up -- they are light blue satin with daisies scattered over them.”
Bessie and Augustus were married before 800 wedding guests at the Presbyterian Church in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. The Hazleton Sentinel wrote:
“The most important society event in years has taken place in our town with the marriage of Miss Bessie, daughter of our wealthy and esteemed citizen, Ario Pardee Esq. to Augustus Van Wickle...The Presbyterian service was performed by the President of Lafayette College, assisted by the minister of the church...The reception was at the Pardee House and the grounds were illuminated...ferns, flowers, and rare plants, hundreds of chinese lanterns, gas lights inside...gifts of silver, gold and precious stones...as if the stock rooms at Tiffany’s had been taken up bodily.”
Stop 2.2: Choosing the Estate
In the late 1800s wealthy families often looked to establish peaceful summer homes in the countryside, called country places, to escape the newly industrialized cities.
As Augustus’ good fortune in business continued, he began to consider buying a second home. In 1894, they travelled to Narragansett, Rhode Island for the summer and began to search for a suitable property to build a country place.
Augustus wanted plenty of land to build a large mansion, stables, guest house, tennis court, golf course, and dock area with sandy beach and bathhouses. Bessie, a keen horticulturist, wanted enough good land to create a garden estate.
Additionally, in 1894 Augustus had presented Bessie with a steam yacht that he had purchased from the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company located just down the street in Bristol. The extravagant steam yacht, named Marjorie after their daughter, cost Mr. Van Wickle $100,000. Today, that would be about $2,689,500! Van Wickle appreciated the fact that the location of Blithewold offered a protected harbor, and yet provided close access to the Atlantic, so perfect for cruises to faraway places.
Stop 2.3: Fire
After Augustus and Bessie purchased this property in 1894, they had a Queen Anne style "Summer Cottage" built on this site. However, this is not the house you see today. In 1906, five years after Bessie Van Wickle married William McKee, the first house was destroyed by fire. Estelle Clements wrote in her diary
“All Bristol turned out, and Mr. Herreshoff sent his foreman and 30 men with tools, who took out mantelpieces, the library shelves, etc. So most everything on the first and second floor were saved except things in the kitchen and laundry,...Bertie Chesebrough dug out the Blithewold Stone in the living room mantel. There was no undue excitement and everyone was cool and worked well.”
Many of the items salvaged from the fire were used in the second house that was completed in 1908. The exterior of the house is fashioned after an English Country Manor, a style that was revitalized during the Arts and Crafts Movement in England during the second half of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century. Inspiration for its ornamentation came from a romantic interpretation of the medieval crafts and the use of rough stone and steep pitched roofs was common. The architect was Walter Kilham of Kilham & Hopkins of Boston.
Stop 2.4: Burning House
Blithewold I burning, June 9, 1906
Stop 2.5: Roof Caves In
The roof caves in, notice the bathtub on the lawn.
Stop 2.6: Watching the Fire
Newspaper Photograph of “Crowd on Lawn Watching Fire”
Stop 2.7: Construction of New House
Blithewold II under construction, 1907